Religious Left makes political push

Sending a message to Republicans

Sep 21, 2004

With a full-page ad in the New York Times, a flashlight-illuminated protest on Broadway and a plea from rock star Bono for spiritually motivated, poverty-fighting activism, the Religious Left sent a message to the presidential candidates and the voters during the Republican Convention.

After years of impotence, their movement is back, progressive religious leaders say. While it is hard to tell if that assertion has real political muscle behind it, political analysts on the right as well as the left agree that the movement appears determined to make the case that God is not a Republican.

“What we’re seeing in this campaign is a reinvigoration of the progressive religious voice,” said John Podesta, president of the Washington-based Center for American Progress and a former chief of staff for President Bill Clinton.